Railway-brake.



S. SHELDON.

RAILWAY BRAKE.

nrmonmu mum 001210, 1908.

Patented June 6, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR ill.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY S. SHELDON.

RAILWAY BRAKE.

APILIUATION FILED OCT 10, 1908.

Patented June 6,1911.

2 SKEETE-SHBET 2.

" m/Eases ATTORNEY PAEENT 7 QFFIOE.

SAMUEL SHELDON, OF PATEFSON, NEW JERSEY.

RAILWAY-BRAKE.

- invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railway-Brakes; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it'appertains to make and use the same, reference being badto the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

In the present method of braking railway vehicles or trains, involvingapplying the braking medium to the wheels, it is well known that eventhough the brakes so perfectly grip the wheels as actually to stop theirrotation, the checking .of the speed of the vehicle or train finallydepends upon the grip which the wheels have on the rails. Since theportion of each .wheel actually in contact with the rail is relativelysmall, the application of the brakes to stop the vehicle or train withina given distance is often inefiectual, besides giving rise to theproduction of flats on thewheels whenever they slide on the rails.

Myinvention has for its object to provide an efiicient brake mechanismin'which the braking medium operates dir tly on the rail; further, so toconstruct and arrange the several parts of the mechanism as to con servesimplicity and durability while rendering it possible for the operatorto secure a wider range in respect to the amount of resistance to be setup according to the circumstances.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is an inside view of a railwaytruck provided with my braking mechanism, the wheel axles being insection; Fig. 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section onthe line w-w in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line yy inFig. 1; Fig. 4; is aside view of the brake-shoe; and, Fig.5 is an endelevation of said brake-shoe, showing the preferred constructionthereof.

a in the drawings designates the truck frame and b the wheels. The sidea of the truck frame has projectin therefrom, preferably as integralparts t ereof, the spaced guides d, the adjoining faces e of which arereferably straight. Spannin these guides is a block j which is secureagainst said Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 10, 1908.

Patented J une 6, 1911. Serial No. 457,107.

guides by the bolts 9 and which, on the inside thereof, opposite thespace between the guides, is formed with the vertical recess 12 which isslightly narrower than said space and thus leaves bearing faces 2' atboth sides of said recess. The block f has the longitudinal extensionsj, the same being oil-set, relatively to the block, and standingparallel with the sides a of the truck frame.

The brake-shoe 7c is an elongated member having a flat under surface Zand a flange m extending along one of its under edges from end to endthereof; midway between its ends it has the upwardly extending tongue athaving straight vertical sides and being approximately as wide as thespace 6 between the guides d. Preferably at its ends, it has theupwardly projecting pairs of lugs 0. For the purpose of increasing thefrictional action of the brake-shoe, it may be formed,

as best'shown in Fig. 5, in a plurality of layers, for instance, three,the two exterior ones, p and g, of metal and the interposed one, '1', ofcompressed paper or any other substance capable of securing a goodfrictional grip on the surface of a steel rail. W'hile the intermediatelayer affords the desired friction'grip by having the greater frictionaladhesion, the other layers, being of harder and more durable material,prevent undue wearing away of the actin face of the brake-shoe. In thiscase, as s own, the metal layer 12 has the flange m and one lug 0 ineach. pair formed as integral parts thereof; the other metal layer g hasthe other two lugs 0 and the tongue a formed as integral parts thereof.The'layers p, g and 1 may be secured together by bolts 8.

The brake-shoe k is arranged over the rail t with its tongue received inthe space e between the guides of. It is actuated as follows: Bearingins were arranged in the extensions j and bosses 1) formed on the side aof the truck frame. Gn these are fulcrumed in reverse arrangementbell-crank levers w having their shorter arms w projecting horizontallyand their longer arms w" projecting upwardly, the latter be ng drawntoward each other by a stout spring a: connecting them. The shorter arms10' snugly fit between the lugs 0 at the ends of the brake-shoe it, saidarms and the lugs articulating on the bearing pins 3 penetrating them.Since the movement of the levers w is a pivotal one and that of thebrake-shoe rectilineal, either the pins u or the pins g should move inslots either in the levers, the parts j and 'v, or the parts 0 in thepresent instance such slots 2 are provided in the lugs 0.- A groove 2'between the lugs 0 at each end of the brake-shoe may be formed to admitthe lever. The truck carries a cylinder 1 open at both ends and havingan admission port 2 for a fluid under pressure, such as air; in thiscylinder are arranged the pistons 3, normally impinging against aninterposed stop 4 formed as an annular rib on the inside of the cylinderand penetrated by the port- 2. Each piston is pivotally connected with alever '10 by a longitudinally adjustable piston rod 5. When air or otheroperating fluid under pressure is admitted by port 2 to the cylinder, itforces the pistons apart, against the tension of spring w, and thusturns the levers w on their fulorums, with the result that thebrake-shoe 7c is thrust downwardly squarely against the rail. As it maybe desirable to limit the throw of the brake-shoe I under the action ofthe pistons, a relief port (3 may be formed in the cylinder at such apoint that, when the adjoining piston passes it, the pressure will betemporarily relieved.

In addition to advantages already indi cated, my arrangement makes itpossible not only to set up considerably greater resistance in braking atrain or vehicle than is possible by the usual braking mechanism but toapply the brakes much more smoothly and gradually; furthermore, theparts being arranged and constructed substantially as herein shown anddescribed, are calculated to withstand considerable wear and tearwithout repairs. Since the brake-shoe is elongated and rounded at theends of its rail-contact surface it will ride smoothly over the jointsbetween meeting ends of rails when in braking contact therewith. Thedrag of the'brake-shoe, being directly and positively assumed by'arigidpart of the truck. vibration when the brake is operating issubstantially wholly eliminated. Again, should one of the wheels break,the drop of the truck would be at once and without material shockassumed by the brake-shoe in a manner calculated to insure the truckre-- maining squarely on the rails and thus prevent further damage and apossibly serious accident.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a railway truck, a vertically movable brake-shoeadapted to bear against the rail, and mechanism for moving saidbrake-shoe comprising a cylinder having a fluid-admission port, and apiston arranged in said cylinder, said cylinder also having areliefsport spaced from the admission port in the direction of theworking thrust of the piston, substantially as adescribed.

2. The combination of a railway truck, a vertically movable brake-shoeadapted to bear against the rail and disposed between two alined wheelsof the truck, a block secured against the side of the truck and havingportions thereof spaced from the truckside, levers fulcrumed between thetruckside and said portions of the block and connected with thebrake-shoe, and means for operating said levers, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a railway truck, a vertically movable brake-shoeadapted to bear against the rail and disposed between two alined wheelsof the truck, said truck being formed with a vertical guide-way on oneside thereof, a block covering said guideway, a brake-shoe guided insaid guide-way, levers fulcrumed on the truck and connected with thebrakeshoe, and means for operating said levers, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination, in a railway truck, of I a suitable supportingstructure, a brake-shoe movable vertically therein, reversely arrangedlevers fulcrumed in said structure, each between its ends, thecorresponding ends of said levers being pivotally connected with thebrake-shoe, and means, operatively connected with the other or free endsof said levers. for moving said free ends in reverse directions,substantially as described.

5. The combination, in a railway truck, of a suitable supportingstructure, a brake-shoe guided for vertical movement, only, in saidstructure, reversely arranged levers ful' crumed in said structure, eachbetween its ends, the corresponding ends of said levers beingpivotally'connected with the brakeshoe, and means, operatively connectedwith the other or free ends of said levers, for

moving said free ends in reverse directions, substantially as describedIn testimony, that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my handthis 7th day of 110 October, 1908.

' SAMUEL SHELDON.

Witnesses:

ELSIE Knurismim, WM. D. BELL.

